If there were ever two shoo-ins for the Sabres quarter-century team, it’s Ryan Miller and Dominik Hasek. Every Sabres fan would agree on that, and others, like Jason Pominville, Daniel Briere, Thomas Vanek, and one of our current Sabres, Rasmus Dahlin, all look like good fits.
Tyler Myers is another player still gracing the middle and bottom pairings of defensive rotations, and so is another. Well, except they’re a rather well-known forward. Yep, that ‘another’ is none other than Jack Eichel. Because of the trade that occurred over three years ago, Eichel is nothing short of polarizing in Buffalo.
Some fans will always blame him for the way things soured while others will blame management. But there is at least one more option, and it’s that both parties were wrong. Again, I said ‘at least,’ because I’m sure you could think of a few more scenarios, right?
Anyway, the question now is this: Does Jack Eichel deserve a spot on the list as a second-team forward? During his time with the Sabres, Eichel never managed to lead the team to the playoffs. But hey, neither has Rasmus Dahlin, so it’s tough to hold that against Eichel.
Eichel never led the Sabres to the playoffs, but he was a great player
Still, it doesn’t mean Jack Eichel was a bad player by any stretch during his time with the Blue and Gold. Throughout his six seasons in Buffalo, Eichel played in 375 games, scored 139 goals, and tacked on 216 assists, good for 355 points, or nearly a point per game.
His best season came during that truncated 2019-20 campaign, when he put up 78 points and 36 goals in 68 contests. He finished in the top 10 for the Hart Trophy that year, and he logged an outstanding 22:06 of average total ice time.
So, does Eichel deserve a spot here? Honestly, whether you like him or not, he’s been arguably the Sabres best and most consistent forward since he was drafted in 2015. Yeah, Tage Thompson could give Eichel a run at some point, but Eichel never had a bad season in Buffalo.
That said, I’ll go ahead and endorse Eichel as a member of the quarter-century team. For now, at least, he’s earned a spot, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be as generous come 2030. At that point, Tage very easily could have passed Eichel, especially if he spends most of his career with the Sabres. Eichel, on the other hand, will likely be best remembered for his time in Vegas.